Moscow's oil exports are under pressure as Western sanctions hit Russia's 'shadow fleet'

Reuters reported last week that sanctions have also triggered a surge in shipping costs, prompting China and India - two of the largest importers of Russian crude - to suspend March purchases of Russian oil. While those countries "continue to import substantial amounts of Russian oil and raise revenue for the Kremlin, they are also reacting to the stick of the US secondary sanctions," said Gonzalo Saiz Erausquin, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute's Centre for Finance and Security.